History of Tea
No one knows for sure exactly where tea came from. The tea plant is most likely indigenous to
southern China's Yunnan province. It has been estimated that tea drinking goes back 5,000
years.
According to legend, the year was 2737 BC when the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung was boiling
drinking water over an open fire, a regimen he followed because he believed those who drank
boiled water were healthier. A few leaves from a Camellia sinensis plant fell into the pot of water.
The emperor, known as the "Divine Healer," drank the mixture and from then on, declared it
gave one "vigor of body, contentment of mind, and determination of purpose."
The first documented reference to tea came in 350 A.D. when Chinese scholar Kuo P'o wrote
about a medicinal beverage "made from the leaves by boiling." By the fifth century A.D., tea
became a major bartering tool for China, along with vinegar, rice, noodles, cabbage, fruits, and
dried meats. In 780, the first book of tea was published: the Ch'a Ching (The Classic of Tea) by Lu
Yu. By this time, tea had been grown widely over China for several centuries. This book is still in
print today.
Tea drinking became a popular social custom for China's elite. By the 8th century, commercial
cultivation of tea had spread throughout the Chinese provinces. Brought to Japan from China by
Zen priests returning from studying monasteries, tea was first the exclusive domain of Japan's
Buddhists who served it to nobility. These monastic practices were the foundations of Chanoyu,
the Japanese tea ceremony that was codified in the 1500s into the form we know today.
In the early 17th century, Dutch traders brought tea from China and Japan to Europe. By the
mid-1600s, tea had been introduced to Britain, France, Germany, Holland, Scandinavia, Russia,
and America. In 1657, Thomas Garway, an English proprietor , got the bright idea of offering tea
to the public, and the beverage quickly became the drink of choice, far outpacing wines and
liquors. The British Queen Catherine of Braganza was a tea drinker and she set an example for
all of Britain's subjects to indulge in the new fashionable drink.
Across the Atlantic, the colonist were inflamed by the excessive tax on tea and other restrictions
on the shipping and receiving of tea in America. Disguised Native American Indians, they
emptied 342 large chests of precious tea into the harbor. The Boston Tea Party, as it became
known, caused the British Parliament to pass a series of unjust acts that were the direct cause for
the convening of the First Continental Congress, which ultimately led to the Revolutionary War.
Americans have contributed to the evolution of tea in their own distinctive traditions, like iced
tea and the tea bag. Iced tea was created at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis,
Missouri The temperature was soaring and the staff in the Far East Tea House couldn't get any
fairgoers to even look their way, let alone sample their tea. So they poured the hot tea over ice
cubes and the drink quickly became the exposition's most popular beverage.
At about the same time, an enterprising New York tea merchant, Thomas Sullivan, began
sending out samples of tea in small silk bags to win customers who thought tea in tins was
inconvenient. Before long, Sullivan was swamped with orders for easy, pre-measured tea sacks,
thus, the tea bag was born. Today, iced tea accounts for 75-70% of America's tea consumption. Of
more than 200 million pounds of tea packaged for consumption in the United States, more than
60% comes in tea bags.
Modern Orgins of Tea
Tea is grown all over the world, however specialty teas are largely the
provenance of just a few countries. Here are the most important on the world tea
scene:
India-The world's largest producer, some 1.8 billion pounds produced, most of which is
consumed domestically. Primarily black tea, India teas are produced on several thousand large
estates in the northeast and south.
China- The world's second largest producer. Primarily green tea, but also black , oolong, pu-erh
and white teas. China produces more specialty tyes than any other country, nd produces the
larget variey of leaf styles by far.
Japan- A small producer, but with an 800-year-old history that is now very advanced
technologically. Almost exclusively steamed green tea.
Taiwan- Different tea leaf styles are produced, but Taiwan is best known for its oolongs. Taiwan
was formerly known as Formosa, and some teas from this island nation are still labeled Formosa,
as in Famous Silver Tipped Oolong.
Sri Lanka- The world's third largest producer, much is exported. Primarily black tea, 60% of which
is produced in the orthodox manner.
Other large producing countries for tea include:
East Africa- Kenya, Malawi and other countries produce reliable quality black teas.
Southeast Asia and the Pacific- Indonesia, Vietnam, Korea and others produce variable types of
primarily black and green tea.
South America- Argentina and to a small extent Brazil produce teas for the iced tea market in
the U.S.
Miscellaneous- Republic of Georgia, Iran, Turkey, South Africa, Papua New Guinea and
Guatemala are some of the more surprising sources for tea, but generally not significant.
The World of Teas
Countries around the world prefer to drink only certain kinds of teas, for reasons of trade,
historical links, and cuisine, although all of these change over time. Some generalizations are:
China- primarily domestically grown green tea; pu-erh and oolong tea.
Japan- primarily domestically grown green tea; black tea secondarily.
India-domestically grown black tea, cooked with milk and sugar and sometimes spiced (chai and
masala chai).
Sri Lanka- mostly black teas with milk and sometimes sugar.
Britain and Europe- primarily black, often with milk. The Irish and the Ostefreisians (NW
Germany) are reputed to drink the most tea per capita in the world.
Russia- black tea with sugar.
Central Asia and the Middle East- black tea often with sugar.
Morocco- China green tea brewed with mint.
East and South Africa- domestically grown black tea.
U.S.A.- primarily black tea. Americans are also the world's largest drinkers of iced tea. Green tea
popularity is growing again - green tea was more popular in the U.S. than black tea during the
18th and 19th centuries.
Definition of Tea
All tea comes from the same plant. It comes specifically from the leaf of Camellia sinensis, a
subtropical evergreen plant native to Asia, and now grown around the world.
Herbal "tea" is colloquial term meaning any hot drink made from a variety of botanicals,
including flowers, bark, fruit, leaves, etc. While this term is commonly used, tea professionals are
careful to differentiate between true tea made from Camellia sinensis,and everything else, from
mint to rooibos. These are technicallyherbal infusions and fruit tisanes.
Three notable components of tea are:
-essential oils-these yield tea's subtle but delicious aroma.
-polyphenols- these provide tea's "briskness," or astringency in the mouth, and provide many of
health benefits in tea.
-caffeine- like coffee, chocolate and colas, this provides tea's natural "energy" life.
Basic Tea Classifications
All tea starts out green leaf on a bush. It is then made into a variety of types by manipulating the
shape and the chemistry of the leaf in different ways. All teas are dried to a high degree at the
end of the process:
White Tea: Unrolled, full withered-dried,essentially this is unprocessed.
Green Tea: (China style): Pan-fired, non-oxidized.
Green Tea: (Japan style(: Steamed, non-oxidized.
Oolong Tea: Partially oxidized.
Pu-erh Tea: Processed, fermented and aged.
Herbal Infusions and Fruit TIsanes: Terms for botanicals other than tea.
Since classifications are largely defined by their oxidation level, whatis oxidation? IT is a natural
occurrence when enzymes in the tea leaf are exposed to air after the leaf's cell structure has
been broken during rolling. Example: is you crush or cut an apples flesh inside will begin turning
brown within minutes of being exposed to oxygen. Trees leaves fallen to the ground and
stepped on by passers by will often exhibit the varied stages oxidation found in the processing of
tea leaves.
Methods of Production& Basic Leaf Styles-A Brief Overview
Tea professionals often spend years just understanding one type of tea production, so it is
impossible to learn it all in one class. Following are some generalizations on the major styles of
tea. While processing determines the type of tea, note that the plucking standard in the field has
everything to do with the resulting leaf style. Plucking can be anywhere from three leaves and a
bud to just pure buds or a single leaf.
History of Tea-Time Line
2737 BC Emperor Shen Nung, the "Divine Husbandman", discovered tea when a tea leaf blew
into his pot of boiling water
620-907 Golden Age of tea in CHina- tea was drunk for sheer pleasure
780 The first book of tea was published- the Ch'a Ching ( The Classic of Tea) by Lu Yu
805 Tea makes its first appearance in Japan- a Buddhist priest after returning from his studies in
China brought tea seeds to Japan
1100 Whipped green tea became fashionable in Japan leading to the evolution of the Japanese
tea ceremony
1600 The East India was formed
1618 First Chinese tea to reach Russia on the caravan route
1637 The Dutch/Portuguese were the first to bring tea to Europe over seas
1662 Catharine of Braganza -Britain's new queen, a tea-lover, made tea drinking popular in
England
1773 Boston Tea Party
1780 First Chinese tea to reach Russia on the caravan route
1823 Native tea trees discovered in Upper Assam
1832 Creation of Clipper Ships
1839 Opium Wars
1839 The Assam Company was set-up and expanded from Assam to Darjeeling and Northern
India
1848 First attempt to raise tea in Northern America
1875 Demise of coffee because of blight and the creation of tea in Sri Lanka
1908 Thomas Sullivan is thought to have created the first tea bag
| History & Origins of Tea |
